1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical communication equipment and, more specifically, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and planar waveguide devices for use in such equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical communication systems often employ devices that use optical waveguides to confine and direct light and to process optical signals. A representative waveguide device may be an optical cross-connect, a router, a modulator, etc. Waveguide devices often include optical switches such as a 2×2 switch. A 2×2 switch has two input ports and two output ports and operates such that an optical signal applied to either one of the two input ports can be directed to either one of the two output ports.
A 2×2 waveguide switch may be implemented using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, a device well known in the art. However, one problem with Mach-Zehnder interferometer switches is that they are thermally actuated. That is, the output port of the switch is changed by changing the temperature of the interferometer arms. Since heating/cooling is a relatively slow process, the switching speed is correspondingly low. In addition, thermal actuation entails power consumption, which might become significant in systems having a relatively large number of switches and/or limited power.